Though postwar Finland pursued a policy of neutrality, Moscow machinations meant Helsinki never quite achieved that until the near the end of the Soviet era. It ...
It was always more a tool than a dogma, and Finns now see Nato membership as the end point of a process towards alignment and away from neutrality that began with EU membership in 1995. “If the answer is yes, you don’t have to change anything. The Irish people –and your defence forces – deserve that.” For Finns, who share a 1,340km border with Russia, the era of small, neutral, nonaligned Europe countries is over. “This is the fear among citizens. The vastly outnumbered and outgunned Finns held out for four months with daredevil offensives, guerrilla defence tactics and even a reindeer battalion.
“Your defence forces are seriously underfunded,” he said, adding military spending needed to treble. Military spending. Michael D Higgins, Uachtarán na hÉireann ...
Looking at Ukraine over the last few months, has prompted the Finns to join NATO, with support for membership doubling among its people, according to polls. Ireland has long been regarded as the weak link in military defence. The country did eventually fall to Russia. Finland never forgot.
Ceremony marks centenary of Baldonnel handover by RAF to Irish Air Service.
He said it was a “great privilege” to carry the regimental colours because of his family’s link to the organisation. It’s great to be a part of that link.” A statue of Michael Collins was also unveiled at the event. “We are experiencing a truly stark time in our collective history; something none of us could have imagined only a few months ago. It will have lots of steps. It will have twists and turns.
The Russian war in Ukraine is a reminder that Ireland urgently requires a “fit-for-purpose” military, the defence forces chief of staff said yesterday.